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As a homeschooling family, we have the luxury of laid back mornings and big breakfasts. One of the kids favorite breakfast treats is pancakes. I call this recipe Everyday Pancakes because they ask for these babies everyday!! We love sitting around the counter on school mornings eating our pancakes and listening to Adventures in Odyssey!

This recipe originally came from the Joy of Cooking, but I have made a few alterations to fit our families tastes! Start with the dry ingredients. 1-1/2 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1-1/2 cups milk and 2 eggs. I usually add a drop of maple syrup to the batter or sometimes I add vanilla extract- about a 1/2 teaspoon will do the trick!

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk together until combined. Don’t overmix… a few lumps are ok…

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter. I like to add it to the batter at the very end. Just mix in gently. The batter will have a velvety texture! Love!!

I like to use this big electric skillet so I can cook 2-3 big pancakes at a time. If I don’t want to haul this thing out, I like to use the grill pan we keep on the stove top. I heat my skillet to 325 degrees or so. If you are not using an electric skillet- turn your oven to medium heat. Preheating is a must. Start preheating while you are gathering your ingredients. The secret to that nice color on your pancakes is a preheated skillet!

I like to let my batter rest for 2-3 minutes until you see nice bubbles forming.

I use a soup ladle for my pancakes. This yields large pancakes!! Just the way the kiddos like it!

Look at that big beautiful pancake!! Cook until you see the bubbles!! Then flip! It’s all about those bubbles!

Ohhhh! so pretty! Cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes….

I like to serve these yummies with pure maple syrup or honey! Glitter Girl likes them with butter only!

Mama likes them rolled up so it’s easier to eat on- the- go!! Stick a piece of sausage inside for a super special treat!

A little trick for cutting all those pancakes in bite-sized pieces….a pizza cutter! the kids can even do it themselves. Bonus!

My little man likes to get up early and help me cook his favorite meal!

Buttering each pancakes doesn’t always happen. They have such a nice taste, that they don’t always need it. But, a pat on the top is always a nice touch!

We love to make these pancakes at least once a week. The above picture is from a double batch. A regular batch will last in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 3 months! Add-ins are always fun!! I believe that you should put your add-ins on your batter individually once the pancake is in the skillet, before the bubbles form- this way each cake gets the same amount of add-in and they all don’t fall to the bottom of the batter. But, do as your heart desires. Use about 1/2 cup of add-in of your liking. There are of course, lots of add-ins choices but my kids don’t see the need to try anything but chocolate chips. My favorite- pecans or blueberries or banana or cinnamon apples!! Yum!

I hope you enjoy these fluffy flavorful pancakes and come back for more!

rton

Everyday Pancakes

2015-05-28 17:11:31

Serves 4

A delicious, fluffy, scratch made pancakes that are easy enough to make everyday!

Preheat electric skillet to 325 degrees or medium heat. Combine dry ingredients: Flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. In a smaller bowl combine milk, eggs and maple syrup or vanilla, if desired. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, stir until combined. Add melted butter. Allow mixture to sit for 2 minutes or so until little bubbles begin to form. Ladle desired amount onto preheated skillet and cook until small bubbles form. Flip and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from skillet. Butter if desired. Serve with maple syrup or honey.

The very first time I made this recipe my mix-in of choice was dried cherries and white chocolate. I was feeling sentimental recently and I had cranberries on hand and the result was wonderful!! There is something about this combination that is perfect. The tartness of the cranberries with the sweetness of the white chocolate- wonderful! I know I’ve posted about scones before, but I love the versatility of this recipe and the colors are beautiful together.

Brush the tops of the scone dough with cream. Bake scones at 425 degrees for 12-16 minutes…. Enjoy!

I made these during the Christmas season and gave them to a friend for her birthday! I saved three scones for me and happened to have some ganache left over from my Triple Chocolate Cake with Ganache and just in case you were wondering…. it was fantastic!!

Lots of exciting things have been happening in my kitchen this week!! I can’t wait to share! More yummy recipes to come!

In a small food processor, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour mixture into a glass bowl, add heavy cream and egg. Place mixture onto a floured board. Knead mixture several times and form into a disc. Add in cranberries and white chocolate. Knead several more times until mix-ins are thoroughly incorporated. Cut mixture into equal pieces. Place onto a baking sheet. Brush tops of scones with cream. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-16 minutes.

We had a beautiful snowy day here in Virginia yesterday! The Sweets and Whimsy family LOVES snow! So, this was a great day for us and it deserved a great breakfast!

I don’t know about you, but I’m still trying to come up with creative ways to use up Christmas and New Years food! I came up with this Fritatta that would use up some ingredients without being the same old leftovers I’ve tried to feed my family for a week. A “Fritatta” is the Italian version of a crust-less Quiche or an open-faced omelette. The best part is you can use what YOU have on hand and make a different Fritatta every time!

To mine, I added red peppers,

a small purple onion

Ham….

and cheese…. We brought a cheese plate to almost every gathering we went to this holiday season- so we had LOTS of different cheeses to choose from! I didn’t even get out the Brie or the Stilton…. that would have been yummy! I grated up some manchego, sharp cheddar, parmesan, havarti, monterrey jack, and sweet irish cheddar. I grated a combination of these cheeses measuring about 3/4 cup. If you’d like your Fritatta extra cheesy, you can add up to 1 cup of cheese.

I wanted a thick piece of Fritatta, so I used a whole dozen eggs!

First, I sauteed my veggies in about a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil. I also added a garlic clove- because I add garlic to everything! I seasoned my veggies at this point , but made sure I had a gentle touch with the salt, since I was adding ham that is naturally very salty.

Once the veggies are soft, you can stir in your ham and add your eggs. I cracked the eggs into a separate bowl and whipped them lightly, adding salt, pepper, and hot sauce- about 4 drops!

Then add your cheese! I did my best grating those little slices of cheese! A food processor would have been easier! Note to self!

Sprinkle cheese on top of Fritatta mixture and pop into oven for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees or until the middle is set.

And here is the finished product! Yum!! Really yum! And… shocker- the kids loved it and asked for seconds! Success!!

Obviously this Fritatta would be good on any morning with any kind of weather and anytime I need to use some leftovers! Enjoy!

Snow-Day Fritatta

2015-01-07 06:00:31

A delicious blend of ham, cheese, and veggies- or whatever you have in your fridge! Add eggs and bake for a warm, comforting breakfast!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place butter and olive in your favorite oven safe skillet. Add veggies and sautee until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add ham. Add eggs and cheese. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until center is set. Enjoy!

Notes

Use your favorite veggies and meat to make your own delicious Fritatta.

As I’ve shared many times, my family likes to celebrate special moments with food! First day school year, birthday breakfast, end of school celebration., Christmas morning! These are the sticky buns that my family chooses to start the celebration! I recently made these for Monkey Man’s birthday breakfast! Glitter Girl suggested I make a batch without nuts for the birthday boy!

Melt one stick of butter in a medium saucepan. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and nuts. Cook on medium heat until bubbly. Cook for an additional five minutes.

Open both tubes of biscuits, separate, and cut into four equal parts. You can also make this recipe with roll dough, but you will have to allow dough to rise overnight.

Combine one cup sugar and one tablespoon cinnamon.

Roll dough pieces in cinnamon sugar mixture.

Prepare your bundt pans with cooking spray or butter. You can also use a 9×13 glass pan if you’d prefer.

Place cinnamon sugar dough on top of butter mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack.

Invert onto serving platter.

Repeat process to make sticky buns without nuts. This was a big hit with the kids. Not as pretty, but very yummy!

I hope this easy dish appears at many of your celebrations! Yummy and easy!!

It’s been a rough week at the Burton household. We lost our sweet dog. Everything happened so quickly and emotions have been all over the place. I’m so thankful that we’ve had each other and have spent many moments clinging to each other and praying. It’s hard for a momma to see her kids sad and feel helpless to make it all better. So…I did what I do… I cooked! Both to comfort and to bring back those sweet smiles. I love that about food. Food can bring comfort, nourishment, and lots of fun!! I made some things this week that gave us all of those things! It was just what we needed.

The kids love Eggs in a Nest- so I decided to produce some early morning smiles and make the nest into a Mickey Mouse shape! The kids loved it!

If you ever need a chocolate fix- these will hit the spot. Soft and moist and made with pudding mix, cocoa powder, and dark chocolate chips. If you want your own chocolate comfort, Dorothy at Crazy for Crust has a great recipe HERE! Enjoy!

My family loves these! Sweet, salty with a perfect crust, crunchy topping and sweet jam in between. I’d love to experiment with other jams and maybe a dark chocolate drizzle! This is a Pioneer Woman recipe. I love her! She is such an inspiration to me! Go HERE for the recipe!

So grateful we had 10 years with our Mattie. Lots of great memories. We miss you sweet friend.

I got a little teary when I was making these muffins yesterday. My love of cooking comes from many places, but one of my fondest memories and greatest teachers is my Grammy. We would always cook oatmeal cookies or lemon cookies together while the boys were in the garage eating sardines ( I definitely got the better deal John!) I have many memories of baking with her! She isn’t living in Virginia anymore, so we aren’t able to cook together like we once did. I think that is why God allows us to have memories, so we can replay that memory over and over and never let it go. She would always tell me to “keep clean hands” while cooking. So we would both put a “hanky” up into our sleeve to wipe away the mess along the way. I had to change out my paper towel six times yesterday- not sure how she was able to only use one! I’ll continue to try to live up to a one hanky recipe! Love you Grammy! These muffins are dedicated to you!

This is a Taste of Home recipe that I found when my kids were little. I changed a few things to suit our taste and it has remained a family favorite! Start with your wet ingredients. I always like to whip my butter or shortening (shown here) by itself just for a minute or so to break up any lumps. Then add your sugar. Once that mixture is combined, add one egg. At this point, I added 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla because I felt the batter needed a fuller body taste and because I’m a huge vanilla fan! Don’t add the milk just yet, we will add that gradually, with the dry ingredients.

The dry ingredients include flour, baking powder, and cinnamon(the original recipe calls for nutmeg- use what your family prefers!). I only added a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, but you could go up to 1/2 teaspoon and it would not overpower the taste. It just depends on your love of cinnamon! Hey, cinnamon has several health benefits- so go for it! At this point, we can add the dry mixture alternately with the milk until the mixture is combined.

Monkey Man buttered my muffin pan for me. On this particular morning he refused to wear a shirt for his photo shoot- scandalous, I know! He says he was “hot”, I’m guessing he was getting a little self-conscience regarding the monster pj’s that have frequented this blog….hey- help is help- I’ll take what I can get! Fill your muffin pan half full with your batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes.

You aren’t going to get a ton of color from these muffins. I love how buttering the muffin pan gives the outside a edges a slight crisp!

Next we combine our topping. 1/2 cup sugar and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. In a separate bowl melt 3 tablespoons of butter. I later transferred my melted butter into a wide rimmed bowl so I could get a better dunk!

Now comes the fun part. After you have removed your muffins from your pan, and your muffins are still warm, let them take a swim top down in your melted butter. weeee!

Immediately let them take a dive into the cinnamon sugar mixture!

So pretty! We always have leftover butter and cinnamon sugar leftover. so….one time, I dipped the bottoms of the muffins as well as the tops and wow! it tasted exactly like a cinnamon sugar doughnut.

Repeat the dunk with the remaining muffins!

These muffins are my go-to “guest” muffins!- a perfect starter for your early risers, these are the perfect “sweet” in the sea of savory that breakfast usually includes at our house! They are my fancy muffins, they are the perfect brunch muffins, they are moist and are best served warm and perfect with a cup of coffee or tea! If you are a fan of cinnamon sugar doughnuts- these will make you very happy!

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg or cinnamon; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk until well combined.

Fill greased muffin cups half full. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Can you tell yet that I love all things ROASTED?! To make this flavorful and moist Banana Bread, I roasted my bananas first!! It made all the difference and has quickly become a family favorite! Remember my Roasted Applesauce post? You can see it HERE! Well, roasting bananas is even easier! Absolutely no prep- just put those bananas on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the peels are black! Baby Monkey Man’s favorite first food was roasted bananas with blueberries! And that stuff went fast in our house because Momma LOVED it too! It tastes like banana-blueberry pudding- but with nothing added! A-mazing!

Here are my Bananas after they have been roasted….yum! 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes!

My bananas are done roasting and the inside is a perfect mushy consistency and still a nice banana-y color- just what you want for your banana bread!

This may sound silly, but this is another one of my tricks to a wonderful banana bread! Grease and flour your pan! I know the spray is easier, but the butter and flour will give the outside of your crust a nice texture and color! I only used a half pat of butter to grease my pan!

Add your dry ingredients: you can make this recipe with a bowl and spoon! No fancy gadgets required! Once you have mixed your dry ingredients together, take the back of your spoon and make a well for your dry ingredients.

Add your Roasted Bananas and 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1/4 cup Greek yogurt- plain or vanilla. ( I used vanilla of course)

2 eggs

Pour in 1/2 cup melted butter

Pour your wet ingredients into the well of your dry ingredients. Mix until combined.

Pour your batter into your prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and out comes this beautiful loaf! Look at that golden brown crust! So pretty!

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire cooling rack until completely cool. Use a serrated knife to cut into slices to avoid a crumbly slice!

Happy, Happy customers! Monkey Man and Glitter Girl gobbled up a slice right away and have enjoyed it every morning this week with their Winter Smoothies!

This Banana Bread was wonderful all by itself, but just imagine all the mix- in possibilities!! Chocolate chips, blueberries, nuts, peanut butter drizzle! Excited to make this recipe again and even try them as muffins!

Grease and flour loaf pan; set aside. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl; make awell in center of mixture. Stir together melted butter, roasted banana, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients, and stir until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, invert onto wire rack until completely cool. Cut into slices with a serrated knife! Enjoy!

Notes

To make muffins: Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pans, filling three-fourths of the way full. Bake at 350 degrees for 19-21 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from pans immediately. Let cool on wire rack. Yield: 20 muffins

~Cooks tip: During the baking process if the top of your banana bread is getting to brown for your liking, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top and continue baking until the bread is fully cooked.

My kids have smoothies every morning for breakfast! Every morning! I love this habit! During the summer, we love using fresh fruit and have a blast making lots of fun combinations. During the winter, we struggle to find fresh fruit that is affordable and…well… fresh. Today, I’m sharing two of our favorite recipes and as with most of my recipes you can do your own combinations! A favorite at our house is banana chocolate …. Mommy’s favorite~ tropical fruit with a drizzle of honey!….add a hot bowl of oatmeal and the kids are fueled up until lunch.

Here is Monkey-man enjoying his Chocolate-Banana Smoothie!

The star of the show! I only use one banana to make two 8-oz smoothies. The kids would be even happier if they could have 16 oz each! It may have something to do with the chocolate!

Add 1/2 cup yogurt of your choice. We use Vanilla yogurt- usually Greek! I love using Greek yogurt in smoothies because it gives my smoothies lots of thick body!

Add 1/2 cup milk

Drizzle in some chocolate syrup….. drizzle to your taste! At this point you can add a spoonful of peanut butter instead of the chocolate or AS WELL AS the chocolate! mmmmm……..

Add ice…. I usually use 8 oz of ice. Use more or less depending on your desired consistency.

Blend until smooth!

Drizzle with chocolate syrup just for fun!

For my tropical smoothie… We pick a bag of frozen tropical fruit! Our fruit mix included peaches, mangoes, pineapples, and strawberries! I use fruit juice or water as my liquid and drizzle honey on top- totally optional! Yum!

I can’t wait to enjoy the bounties of summer! But, I have a feeling the winter smoothie recipes will stay in our breakfast recipe box! I’d love to hear about your combinations! What smoothies make an appearance at your breakfast table?

My husband and I have been talking about these cookies for a long time. He is a “commuter” and always looking for a quick bite to eat so he can get on the road. When I make my oatmeal cookie recipe, he always says: “Hmmm…these would be good with…. bacon.” If you know this man–he truly says that about almost anything I make, but this time, I wondered if he had something. He mentioned that his mom used to make “breakfast cookies” when he was growing up. He said they were egg-y and cheesy! I would love to find that recipe! Mims- if you are reading! Please do share! These Breakfast cookies are a huge hit with the kids ….obviously just as a treat every once in awhile, but a treat with plenty of fiber and the sweet and salty mix is yummy! Enjoy!

Every good cookie recipe starts with some butter. This one starts with 2 and a 1/2 sticks! Let is soften at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

Then add your sugars! 3/4 cup brown sugar (pairs so nicely with the bacon), and 1/2 cup white sugar. I think I may add all brown sugar next time! I’ll let you know how it goes!

Add 3 cups old fashioned oats…. mix just until combined. You don’t want to over-mix once the oatmeal is added.

The star of the show! Chop or crumble your cooled bacon…. This step must be done quickly at my house…. snacking of ingredients frequently happens.

Add crumbled bacon to mixture!

Scoop 1- inch balls of dough onto stone or cookie sheet…. look at those lovely bits of bacon! Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes until tops are golden.

Done!

They are also good for lunch or after dinner!

I tried adding cheese- for an oatmeal, bacon and cheese cookie….. Good thought. But, it messed with my mental tastebuds, and the texture was off…. but aren’t they pretty!

Ok… so what else could I add to my oatmeal cookies to make them a breakfast treat? spiced apples, bananas, cream cheese frosting and a drizzle of maple syrup? wait…. this is breakfast right? but, that would be good! yes?! So many things to try, so little time!

I tried some of our Roasted Applesauce on a Breakfast cookie! YUM! This is my favorite variety so far! I hope these cookies make for happy mornings at your house!

I thought I would celebrate my love of baking by starting a blog, and to celebrate the start of my blog I’m baking scones! These scones are my favorite comfort food, a perfect compliment to tea or coffee, and the most requested treat from my family members! These are not the typical crumbly scones you’ll find at most bakeries. These are very moist and fluffy and make my mouth oh so happy! There are so many variations to this scone recipe including mix-ins and glazes, not to mention yummy butters. But that is for another day! Today, I introduce you to my Yummy, Perfect Scones!

Start with 2 cups all-purpose flour, leveled off.

Add 1 tablespoon baking powder.

Add 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then in a food processor, pulse to combine the dry ingredients.

Cut 6 tablespoons of cold butter into cubes. Add to the dry ingredients.

Pulse until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

In a glass mixing bowl, beat 1 egg.

Add 1 cup whipping cream.

Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or more). I tend not to measure!

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Mix until the wet and dry ingredients come together. I always use a glass bowl and a rubber spatula for this process…. I have tried other ways and it just doesn’t work as well. This is what the scones like. I don’t question it!

Flour your board (or counter top).

Form the dough into a disk.

Cut that disk in half (here I am using a bench scraper, but a sharp knife would work just as well). Set one half to the side.

Re-form the dough into a disk, then cut it into triangles ( I usually try to get 8 triangles per disk) Repeat the re-forming and cutting with the half that you set aside, then place the two disks on a baking sheet or stone. Brush the tops with heavy cream. You can also use an egg wash, but again, the scones like the cream, and I aim to please!

Bake at 425 degrees for 12-16 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

In a glass mixing bowl, beat egg, then add 1 c. whipping cream and vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Then, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and pat dough into a 8-inch disk. Cut dough in half and set half aside. Form half the dough into an 8-inch disk, then cut into 8 triangles. Repeat with other half of dough.

Place scones on a baking sheet or stone and brush with whipping cream. Bake for 12-16 minutes until scones are lightly browned on top. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the glaze.

For the Glaze

Using a whisk combine all ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the warm scones.

Notes

This is just a basic recipe. You can customize it by adding just about anything: dried fruit, chocolate chips, even savory ingredients! Also, you can change up the glaze. Instead of coffee, try adding some lemon zest.